Mossie : The Plane That Saved Britain
he B17 for example could only manage a 4000 lb bomb load
Coo, just think if the Paton brothers one could be made airworthy and the N.Z. one, then bring the N.Z. and the Canadian one over here. What a fly past they'd make!
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Another short video from the same airshow in Canada, this time mainly of Keith Skilling talking about the restoration and test flights.
The test flights in September were advertised as just that,and some 15000 people turned up!
Mosquito Roll Out Today | Wings Over New Zealand
The test flights in September were advertised as just that,and some 15000 people turned up!
Mosquito Roll Out Today | Wings Over New Zealand
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Author of 'The new science of strong materials' was once stationed in the East.
He had to go round all the Mossies in the squadron and smell them!
Apparently a combination of heat, humidity & local fungi combined to convert the glue into a crumbly mess.
Scent of cheese meant that replacement parts were required.
He had to go round all the Mossies in the squadron and smell them!
Apparently a combination of heat, humidity & local fungi combined to convert the glue into a crumbly mess.
Scent of cheese meant that replacement parts were required.
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Last edited by Milo Minderbinder; 29th Jul 2013 at 19:28.
Kalkhin Gol -- Japan's First Bloody Nose
One of several articles:
War in the East: How Khalkhin-Gol changed the course of WWII | Russia & India Report
Up to KG, modern Japan had gotten very much used to having its own way militarily. After KG, they decided to take on easier targets -- and somehow decided that the US was one of the easy targets
War in the East: How Khalkhin-Gol changed the course of WWII | Russia & India Report
Up to KG, modern Japan had gotten very much used to having its own way militarily. After KG, they decided to take on easier targets -- and somehow decided that the US was one of the easy targets
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You learn something new every day.
US - Easier target only because they didn't listen to some Admirals / Generals ?
And as the Japanese Admiral said, we have just woken a sleeping giant !!!
US - Easier target only because they didn't listen to some Admirals / Generals ?
And as the Japanese Admiral said, we have just woken a sleeping giant !!!
Originally Posted by Samuel
It[NZ] hasn't! That in the video is the Canadian Heritage one,and Keith was taking part flying the [now]Jerry Yagen -owned Mosquito.
Jerry bought the pile of bits of KA114 many years ago (off of Jim Mezaarian IIRC?), and had them shipped out to NZ to be restored using the first airworthy fuselage from Glyn.
Shame Jerry is now in a financial situation that means the Mossie will either stay on the ground for the forseable future or be sold. A lot of the rest of his fleet has already been put up for sale (Spitfire, Corsair, TBM etc) and some of them have already been sold (Dragon Rapide, B-17G, FW190)
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"it was their greater industrial capacity."
Helps a great deal when it's not being bombed every day, night, week, month !!!
(As in the US and UK later on in the war).
Helps a great deal when it's not being bombed every day, night, week, month !!!
(As in the US and UK later on in the war).
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What was it that Bert Harris said after the end of the War?
RAF BBMF - The Lancaster
As has been said previously, it's unlikely that a single aircraft or any other weapon "saved Britain". More likely it was the combined effect of several types of sea, land and air machines working together intelligently and with imagination by the men commanding and operating them.
In a letter to the head of Avro after the war, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris, the Commander in Chief of Bomber Command, said of the Lancaster:
I would say this to those who placed that shining sword in our hands: Without your genius and efforts we could not have prevailed, for I believe that the Lancaster was the greatest single factor in winning the war.
I would say this to those who placed that shining sword in our hands: Without your genius and efforts we could not have prevailed, for I believe that the Lancaster was the greatest single factor in winning the war.
As has been said previously, it's unlikely that a single aircraft or any other weapon "saved Britain". More likely it was the combined effect of several types of sea, land and air machines working together intelligently and with imagination by the men commanding and operating them.
Last edited by GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU; 30th Jul 2013 at 08:27. Reason: Forgot the reference Link
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Finally got to see this - and it was a fine thing - bit too much dust around when he got the flight - and some stunning vintage flight clips. Just how low was that fourship crossing those fields in the clip they showed at least twice? Lobbing bombs into railway tunnels (and pulling up in time)?
I remember a clip - possibly of Wing Co. Pickard briefing the crews before the Amiens Raid: "We will cross the Channel at low level and no one is to be lower than me!"
Wherever that Mosquito ends up it really needs to be low over Northern France on 18th Feb next year or at very least Mr Williams needs to front a documentary about Operation Jericho with every clip he can find.
I'm a bit of fan so another statistic:
Number of aircraft to take out a "No Ball" site:
30 B17,
17 Lancasters or
1 Mosquito delivering 4000lb straight down.
I remember a clip - possibly of Wing Co. Pickard briefing the crews before the Amiens Raid: "We will cross the Channel at low level and no one is to be lower than me!"
Wherever that Mosquito ends up it really needs to be low over Northern France on 18th Feb next year or at very least Mr Williams needs to front a documentary about Operation Jericho with every clip he can find.
I'm a bit of fan so another statistic:
Number of aircraft to take out a "No Ball" site:
30 B17,
17 Lancasters or
1 Mosquito delivering 4000lb straight down.
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"Wherever that Mosquito ends up it really needs to be low over Northern France on 18th Feb next year or at very least Mr Williams needs to front a documentary about Operation Jericho with every clip he can find."
+ 1
Would be nice if at one stage a Lanc, Mossie, Spitfire and Hurricane could all fly over France.
+ 1
Would be nice if at one stage a Lanc, Mossie, Spitfire and Hurricane could all fly over France.
I'm pretty sure the Mossie went all the way to Berlin in daylight, don't know if it took a full 4000lbs with it though.
Last edited by MAINJAFAD; 30th Jul 2013 at 20:30.
Haven't seen the film of the tunnel test, however there are pubilshed photos of the land dropped highball test dropped by a Mossie on the Ashley Walk bombing range in late 43 (edit - which I think was stills taken from the footage used in the clip, always thought that bit of film footage was fake until I read up about it a few years back).
Last edited by MAINJAFAD; 31st Jul 2013 at 01:16.
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Let us not lose sight of the fact that the title of the piece is "Meeja" hoopla. The Mossie (my favourite piston engine aircraft, btw) played a major role in the eventual Allied victory. Was it decisive? Well, the main point is that it helped to bring about the aforementioned victory. It can take its place beside the Battle of Britain Spits and Hurricanes, the Dambusters, the Short Stirling crews, the Dakota crews, the far east Brewster Buffalo pilots, Ken Campbell, to cut this short, people who, as I like to say, stared evil down. Sorry for the runon.
My father passed away a long time ago, way back in 1989. When I was a kid he told me about his job during WWII. He was an RDF operator for most of his time directing night fighters to intercept German intruders. He also spent a little time flying as a navigator/observer in mosquitos and was in an RAF group attached to the US on D-Day setting up RDF/radar to detect the expected strong Luftwaffe response.
I think all I want to say is thank you for this thread. I haven't been able to talk to my father for a long time of course, but he always told me how wonderful the Mosquito was and how it changed the war.
Sorry for the interruption, but thought you'd like to know.
I think all I want to say is thank you for this thread. I haven't been able to talk to my father for a long time of course, but he always told me how wonderful the Mosquito was and how it changed the war.
Sorry for the interruption, but thought you'd like to know.
